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CASSANDRAS  of  1849 


REYIEW 

OP 

SECKETARY  WALKER'S  REPORTS.— 1849. 


REPRINTED    1859. 


WASHINGTON,  July  16,  1849. 

Mr.  Walker's  report — the  great  report  of  1845 — lays  down  the 
following  principles,  as  he  calls  them  : 

1st.  "That  no  more  money  should  be  collected  than  is  necessary 
for  the  wants  of  Government,  economically  administered." 

Agreed  to. 

2d.  "That  no  duty  be  imposed  upon  any  article  above  the  lowest 
rate  which  will  yield  the  largest  amount  of  revenue." 

What  does  Mr.  Walker  mean  by  this  ?  Are  there  two  or  more  rates, 
high,  low,  and  lowest,  which  would  each  «  yield  the  largest  revenue"  ? 
The  principle,  as  laid  down  by  Mr.  Walker  in  the  foregoing  words 
quoted,  would  clearly  imply  so. 

.  If  that  be  his  meaning,  then  certainly,  the  whole  principle  resolves 
itself  into  the  more  simple  and  intelligible  phraseology  of  "adopting 
that  rate  of  duty  which  shall  induce  the  largest  imports,"  for  if  it  does 
not  distinctly  avow  that  and  nothing  else,  it  has  no  meaning  ichatsoever. 

If,  however,  he  means,  what  he  does  not  say,  to  wit,  that  we  should 
adopt  "  whatever  rate  of  duty  shall  produce  the  largest  revenue,"  it- 
only  shows  his  proclivity  to  use  clap-trap  words,  even  at  the  hazard 
of  being  unintelligible,  because  this  principle  of  his  may  induce  a  high 
rate  of  duty. 

It  is  certain  that  he  does  not  mean  very  low  duties,  because  he 
admits  in  his  report  that  they  would  not  tax  the  people  to  the  extent 
necessary  for  the  "wants  of  Government." 

.  Again,  this  2d  "principle,"  as  laid  down,  does  not,  upon  annuncia- 
tion, challenge  and  receive  universal  assent;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
guilty  of  the  unpardonable  offence  of  challenging  the  not  very  flatter- 
ing quere  of?  What  does  he  mean  ?  carrying  home  the  conviction  that 


265 


a  writer,  who  with  the  utmostc  are  and  preparation,  condensing,  simpli- 
fying, analyzing,  and  resolving  a  complicated  system  into  its  original 
elements,  purporting  to  give  a  solution  of  a  problem,  proposes  a  prob- 
lem, in  itself  no  less  difficult  and  complicated  than  the  original,  and 
withal  so  ambiguously  stated,  as  to  allow  many  different  solutions. 
The  conviction  is  fastened  upon  the  mind  of  every  reader,  that  the 
ideas  in  the  head  of  the  promulger  are  as  indistinct  as  is  their  annun- 
ciation. 

3d.  "  That  below  such  rate  (?)  discrimination  may  be  made,  de- 
cending  in  the  scale  of  duties  j  or,  for  imperative  reasons,  the  article 
may  be  placed  in  the  list  of  those  free  from  all  duty." 

Again  we  ask,  What  does  he  mean  ?  It  is  assuredly  not  a  "  prin- 
ciple" deduced  from  the  previous  one,  nor  is  it  one  in  harmony  and 
supporting  it ;  nor  does,  or  can  it,  even  run  pari  passu  with  it.  On 
the  contrary,  it  distinctly  conflicts  with  it,  and  so  far  as  any  "princi- 
ple" is  concerned,  it  would  permit  the  practical  annihilation  of  the 
principle  first  laid  downj  because,  supposing  Mr.  Walker's  rates  of 
duty,  (whatever  rates  he  does  mean,)  under  the  first  principle  to  be 
fixed,  bringing  in  the  greatest  amount  of  revenue,  just  sufficient  to 
meet  the  "  wants  of  Government,"  he  then  permits  you  to  discrimi- 
nate BELOW  that  rate,  that  is,  for  it  can  mean  nothing  else,  you  may 
reduce  those  rates  still  further,  but  not  augment  them.  The  conse- 
quence must  be  that  the  reduction  of  rates,  below  the  rate,  the  "lowest 
rate"  of  duty  necessary  to  raise  the  amount  of  the  "  wants  of  Govern- 
ment," would  either  increase  or  diminish  that  amount,  and  thus  con- 
flict with  the  primary  or  vital  principle  of  his  whole  theory.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  this  discrimination  "descending,"  would  neither  aug- 
ment nor  diminish  the  amount,  it  Would  conclusively  follow,  that,  after 
having  solved,  or  ascertained,  under  principle  No.  2,  the  "  lowest  rate 
of  duty,  which  would  yield  the  largest  amount  of  duty,"  his  "  prin- 
ciple," under  head  of  No.  3,  « discriminating  in  a  descending  scale 
below  the  lowest  rate  of  duty,"  would  have  the  marvellous  effect  of 
producing  just  the  same  amount!  the  amount  fi necessary  for  the 
wants  of  Government."  It  performs  still  greater  wonders,  because  it 
allows,  for  "  imperative  reasons,"  a  total  abolition  of  duties  on  all  arti- 
cles impressed  under  exactions  of  "  imperative  reasons,"  and  still  we 


shall  have  the  exact  amount  necessary  to  meet  "the  wants  of  Govern- 
ment." 

If  this  principle  under  head  No.  3,  be  not  wholly  inoperative,  then 
that  announced  under  head  No.  2,  is  mere  idle  words,  the  entire 
virtue  being  in  No  3.  If  principle  No.  2  has  virtue,  then  No.  8  must 
be  powerless. 

The  annunciation  of  No.  3,  like  that  of  No.  2,  instead  of  claiming 
universal,  unhesitating  assent,  as  a  "  principle,"  at  once,  it  bears 
stamped  on  its  face,  in  the  strongest  characters,  the  features  of  an 
equivocal  and  difficult  problem,  requiring  the  closest  attention  to  guess 
even  at  its  meaning,  and  discouraging  attempts  at  its  solution. 

It  has  in  it  no  trace  of  an  axiom,  or  indisputable  principle  to  com- 
mand acquiescence ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  seed  of  confusion  from 
which  truth  or  order  can  never  spring.  It  either  swallows  up  its  pre- 
decessor, or  is  itself  still-born.  They  cannot  exist  together. 

If  the  two  together  have  really  any  meaning  consistent,  it  is  this  : 
that  discrimination  may  be  made  so  long,  or  while  it  pursues  the  cal- 
culation, which  at  the  "  lowest  rate  of  duty  will  produce  the  largest 
amount  of  revenue/'  unless  there  be  more  than  one  "lowest  rate  of 
revenue"  which  "will  produce  the  largest  amount  of  revenue."  No 
"  discrimination"  can  be  made,  except  such  as  will  produce  the  "  great- 
est revenue,"  and  that  discrimination  is  secured  by  the  "  principle" 
No.  2  j  and  vice  versa,  No.  1  would  admit  of  several  solutions,  of  which 
No.  2  would  be  the  choice,  and  might  as  well  have  been  adopted  with- 
out the  first  having  been  stated. 

4th.  "  That  the  maximum  duties  should  be  imposed  on  luxuries." 

This  "  principle,"  instead  of  being  a  sequitur,  or  in  any  way  eluci- 
dating the  previous  ones,  Nos.  2  and  3,  or  in  any  way  appertaining 
to  them,  is  an  ingredient  of  discord.  It  adds  another  member,  not  to 
solve,  but  to  complicate  and  perplex  a  problem,  already  rendered  suf- 
ficiently difficult. 

It  controls  both  Nos.  2  and  3,  or  it  is  a  nullity.  They  must  both 
be  complied  with  and  ciphered  out,  by  putting  the  "  highest"  of  the 
"lowest  duty"  upon  "luxuries;"  "discriminating"  thus,  but  the 
"  highest"  duty,  must  be  the  "  lowest"  that  will  "  produce  the 
greatest  amount  of  revenue." 

Another  question,  or  rather  several  very  difficult  questions  arise,  to 


wit,  "What  articles  are  "luxuries"  ?  and  Why  should  "luxuries"  be 
put  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  the  people,  by  high  taxes  or  the  "high- 
est" duty? 

Does  price,  or  scarcity,  or  both,  constitute  "  luxury"  ?  Is  it  the 
duty  of  Government  to  put  within  reach  of  the  people  "luxuries?" 
Or  is  it  the  duty  of  Government  to  exclude  the  "  people"  from  all 
enjoyment  of  "luxuries  ?"  What  were  "  luxuries' '  some  years  since, 
are  now  the  "  ordinary  enjoyments"  of  "  the  people." 

Are  "  luxuries"  all  those  articles  not  "  necessary"  to  the  existence 
of  the  people  ?  Tea,  coffee,  spices  of  all  kinds,  are  luxuries,  under 
any  oilier  definition,  that  they  are  accessible  to,  and  enjoyed  by  the 
universal  people. 

i  It  is  a  "  principle"  of  Mr.  Walker's,  but  conveys  to  the  mind  of 
others,  a  problem,  with  meaning  undefined  and  undefinable. 

5th.  "  That  all  minimums,  and  all  specified  duties,  should  be 
abolished,  and  ad  valorem  duties  substituted  in  their  places,  care  being 
taken  to  guard  against  fraudulent  invoices  and  under-valuation,  and 
to  assess  the  duty  upon  the  actual  market  value." 

This  "principle,"  like  those  preceding,  can,  upon  its  face,  com- 
mand the  assent  of  no  one.  Except  the  first,  not  one  of  the  "  prin- 
ciples" is  a  great,  universally-admitted  truth.  It  is  a  very  difficult 
problem,  requiring  much  labor  and  investigation  to  ascertain  its 
results,  and  throwing  out  prominently  in  front  the  most  serious  ob- 
jections. If  ingenuity  had  done  its  utmost  to  contrive  a  mode  l>y 
winch  the  (Cextremest"  fluctuations  of  the  market  price  could  be 
caused  ;  this  5th  principle  of  Mr.  Walker  would  have  been  the  device 
selected.  ,  • 

By  this  mode,  as  the  market  price  of  an  article  advances,  Govern- 
ment, pari  passu,  piles  on  the  ad  valorem  duty  at  "  the  actual  market 
value."  As  the  price  recedes,  Government,  under  this  principle,  with 
equal  rapidity  takes  off  the  duty.  Thus  two  elements  are  at  work  in 
causing  the  fluctuations  of  prices.  If  prices  go  up,  the  ad  valorem 
drives  them  still  higher.  If  prices  recede,  the  ad  valorem  depresses 
them  to  the  lowest  price;  while  a  fixed  rate  of  duty  is  not  only  a 
certain  data  for  commercial  calculation,  but  also  limits  the  fluctuations 
of  price,  to  the  single  influence  of  the  market  price  of  the  goods. 

It  may  also  be  considered  as  affording  vastly  greater  opportunities 


to  unscrupulous  foreigners  and  fraudulent  citizens  to  cheat  the  Govern- 
ment. It  must  inevitably  be  more  complex,  leaving  the  interests  of 
Government  at  the  discretion  of  poorly-paid  appraisers,  withdrawing 
the  safeguard  of  a  fixed  rate.  The  opinions  of  appraisers  and  the 
different  market  values  at  different  ports,  will  infallibly  cause  the 
levying  of  unequal  duties  in  different  ports,  and  consequently  of  doing 
injustice  to  some.  To  say  the  least,  it  opens,  on  the  one  hand,  a 
tempting  door  of  fraud  to  the  shippers  in  foreign  ports,  and  of  oppres- 
sion by  the  Government.  Because,  Government  being  the  sole  judge 
of  the  value  of  goods,  may  disregard  an  invoice  and  place  an  excessive 
valuation  on  the  goods :  or  it  may,  through  negligence,  or  collusion  of 
its  humble,  and  poorly-paid  appraisers,  permit  fraudulent  invoices  to 
pass;  or,  if  honest  and  watchful,  even,  it  is  impossible,  in  a  vast 
amount  of  instances,  that  they  can  detect  fraud. 

There  are  so  many  channels  through  which  the  "  discretion"  of  an 
officer  may  be  approached  without  pecuniary  or  other  revolting  advan- 
tageous offers,  such  as  personal  confidence,  and  predilections  towards 
certain  individuals,  which  lulls  them  to  sleep,  or  the  dread  of  great 
political  influence,  which  makes  them  fear  to  express  distrust  of  what- 
ever invoices  may  be  presented  by  such  parties.  These,  and  many 
other  difficulties  start  up  at  the  first  statement  of  the  "  principle/' 

6th.  «  That  the  duty  should  be  so  imposed  as  to  operate  as  equally 
as  possible  throughout  the  Union,  discriminating  neither  for  nor 
against  any  class  or  section." 

This,  by  itself,  is  intelligible  enough,  but  is  most  strangely  at  vari- 
ance with  No.  3,  which  says,  "  discrimination  may  be  made,"  and 
with  No.  4,  which  is  wholly,  and  entirely,  and  purely  a  "  discrimina- 
tion/' and  not  only  a  "discrimination,"  but  so  intended  against  the 
«  class"  using  « luxuries." 

Is  there  any  man,  save  Mr.  Walker  himself,  so  bold,  and  so  saga- 
cious, as  to  assert  that  those  six  principles,  avowed  by  Mr.  Walker  as 
the  seed,  or  basis  of  his  tariff,  are  homogeneous,  or  can  by  possibility 
be  woven  together  ?  Can  any  one  so  picture  to  his  own  mind  its 
possible  working  ?  or  can  any  one  perceive  any  possible  benefit  to  any 
interest  to  the  country  ? 

The  only  "  glimmer"  of  light  shed  forth,  is  the  idea,  of  getting  very 
low  duties  by  an  immense  amount  of  importations,  all,  (except  ad  va- 


6 

lorem  with  its  hosts  of  dangers,)  of  the  other  principles  vanish,  being 
inconsistent  and  impossible,  in  conjunction  with  the  all-important 
Nos.  1  and  2. 

Mr.  Walker  must  himself  be  fully  aware  that  that  is  the  only  duty 
offered  by  his  whole  six  principles.  The  other  four,  or  perhaps  3,  4 
and  5,  are  only  intended  to  mislead  with  false  hopes  and  to  con- 
found. They  are  not  and  cannot  be  part  and  parcel  of  his  great 
Tariff  principles. 

Throughout  his  voluminous  report,  whenever  he  substantiates  a 
feature  of  one  "  principle"  he  blots  out  a  corresponding  one  of  one  or 
more  of  the  others ;  and  when  in  great  straits,  he  covers  from  the  view, 
the  Prophet  of  Khorazin — the  Walker  Tariff  with  the  "  veil  of  Free 
Trade" — behind  whose  fair  folds,  lies  concealed  the  distorted  and  dis- 
cordant features  of  a  "  monster"  Tariff. 

No  section,  class,  or  interest  can  read  the  principles  of  Mr.  Walker, 
and  receive  the  slightest  conception  of  their  working.  Misgivings, 
doubts  and  fears  must  attach  to  all,  and  no  one  feel  joyful  with  "in- 
telligent hope."  The  only  forlorn  loop  upon  which  hope  can  hang  is, 
that  it  proposes  to  levy  as  small  a  per  cent,  duty  as  possible.  Liter- 
ally, substantially,  and  most  truly,  it  permits  no  other  "  hope/'  and 
this  single  "  hope"  may  with  painful  truth  and  reality  be  said  to  lie 
at  the  bottom  of  this  "  Pandora's  Box,"  filled  with  evils  now  being 
scatt2red  broadcast  over  the  land. 

WasJiington,  July,  1849. 

Tt  always  affords  us  pleasure  to  give  assent  to  any  of  the  state- 
ments and  doctrines  avowed  by  Mr.  Walker,  to  whom,  notwithstand- 
ing the  difference  in  our  deductions  from  the  same  political  axioms, 
we  cheerfully  accord  the  meed  of  merit  due  to  his  talents,  and  in  our 
discussions  we  shall  treat  him  with  all  consideration  and  due  respect. 

Mr.  Walker,  in  demonstrating  the  advantages  of  free  trade — thus 

happily  states  the  case, that "  it  is  clearly  illustrated  by  the 

perfect  free  trade  which  exists  among  all  the  States  of  the  Union, 
and  by  the  acknowledged  fact  that  any  one  of  these  States  would  be 
injured  by  imposing  duties  upon  the  products  of  others." 

This  is  the  strong  tariff  doctrine  out  and  out.  The  Tariff  party 
contend  that  the  perfect  free  trade  among  the  States  is  the  best 


incomparably  of  all  commerce,  and  they  propose  to  push  its  advan- 
tages still  further ;  to  make  that  free  trade  flourish  exceedingly,  de- 
veloping to  the  uttermost  the  resources  of  each,  unshackled  by  the 
restriction  inevitable  between  alien  nations. 

By  a  free  trade  among  the  States  commerce  is  taxed  only  to  the 
amount  necessary  to  u  meet  the  wants  of  our  governments  •"  a  commerce 
with  foreign  countries  has  to  Lear  the  burden  necessary  to  the  support 
of  Loth  governments. 

But  there  is  another  fact,  striking  and  conclusive,  in  favor  of  free 
trade  among  the  States,  and  it  is  this :  it  is  the  source  from  whence 
all  internal  improvements  have  sprung,  causing  in  their  course  "  the 
desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose."  We  will  illustrate  by  example,  thus, 
— The  cotton,  rice,  &c.,  raised  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  is 
shipped  by  vessels  from  Charleston  or  other  ports  to  Europe,  and  by 
same  conveyance  returns  are  received ;  the  paths  of  these  vessels  are 
o'er  the  trackless  deep,  whose  treacherous  waters  keep  in  constant 
peril,  too  often  engulfing  in  a  common  ruin,  the  vessel,  cargo  and 
precious  lives.  From  the  moment  of  departure  from  one  port  to 
arrival  at  her  destination,  the  restless  waters,  close  following  in  her 
path,  obliterate  every  vestige  of  her  track  ;  and  ten  millions  of  vessels 
passing  and  repassing  would  leave  no  evidence,  (save  the  scattered 
wrecks,)  of  the  treasures  of  life  and  property  that  had  passed  along. 
But  suppose  from  Charleston  to  Nashville  or  Memphis,  a  railroad 
were  constructed,  an  exchange  of  products,  cotton  and  rice  taken  from 
South  Carolina  to  Tennessee,  and  in  return  receive  the  beef,  the  corn, 
wheat,  tobacco,  iron  and  manufactures  of  cotton.  The  advantages,  or 
to  enumerate  a  few  of  them  only,  would  be  the  saving  of  life  and 
property  to  the  extent  of  trade  thus  diverted  to  the  West — to  give 
immense  value  to  lands,  otherwise  so  far  from  market  as  to  be  value- 
less; this  accessibility  to  market,  would  cause  an  influx  of  population  ; 
the  construction  of  the  railroad  itself,  and  the  cars,  engine  and  station- 
houses,  would  all  bring  laborers,  mechanics,  and  persons  of  every 
occupation  connected.  To  supply  these,  artisans  and  shop-keepers 
would  come,  and  with  all  these  would  follow  employ  for  the  learned 
professions.  Divinity,  Medicine  and  Law,  and  last,  though  not  least, 
the  school-masters,  printers  and  editors — and  the  population  thus 
increasing,  would  afford  patronage  to  secure  abundance  and  the  best 


8 

of  everything  at  the  most  reasonable  rates.  This  traffic  would  neces- 
sarily give  rise  to  travel  back  and  forth,  making  the  parties  mutually 
acquainted,  and  knitting  them  together  by  the  bonds  of  interest  and 
good  feeling.  All  these  advantages  are  open  and  accessible,  without 
the  tax  of  a  dollar  beyond  the  sum  which,  of  necessity,  must  be  paid 
for  the  revenue  of  the  government.  Should  the  railroad  pass  through 
a  mineral  country,  it  would  develop  invaluable  treasures,  which  would 
be  worthless  so  long  as  a  restricted  trade  with  foreign  nations  should 
be  preferred  to  a  perfect  free  trade  among  the  States.  But  there  are 
other  most  important  advantages  intimately  connected  with  this  free 
trade  among  the  States,  inasmuch  as  to  give  rise  to  the  most  varied 
employments,  from  which  the  South  is  almost  wholly  excluded — the 
exceptions  being  when  they  have  adopted  Tariff  principles.  As  it  now 
is,  planting  is  almost  the  sole  employment,  giving  rise  to  one  set  of 
ideas  to  every  person,  and  by  necessity,  keeping  people  segregated, 
— limiting  communication  and  the  subjects  of  investigation  and  dis- 
cussion— narrowing  the  range  of  the  mind  to  one  pursuit.  The  rail- 
road with  its  host  of  advantages,  would  give  employment  to  engineers, 
to  mechanics  and  manufacturers,  and  the  sons  of  planters  could  engage 
in  those  pursuits  and  in  the  professional  occupations  to  which  a  largely 
increasing  population  would  give  rise. 

By  that  mode,  and  by  that  mode  alone,  can  the  mind  of  a  people 
attain  a  full  development.  The  teeming  activity  of  mind  springing 
from  varied  occupations  is  most  strikingly  apparent,  in  the  records  of 
the  Patent  Office,  which  are,  almost  exclusively,  the  monument  of  the 
great  advantages  flowing  from  this  source.  The  mind  of  South 
Carolina,  naturally  so  good,  is,  in  relation  to  these  matters,  torpid,  her 
name  scarcely  appearing  among  the  inventors  of  useful  and  orna- 
mental improvements. 

If  the  policy  of  Mr.  Walker  had  been  pursued  from  the  period  of  the 
last  war,  1812,  few,  very  few  of  the  improvements,  which  have  annihi- 
lated space,  united  population,  and  by  diversifying  occupation,  rendering 
it  profitable,  would  exist.  Nor  should  we  have  had  that  full  and  free 
intercourse  to  which  business  gives  rise,  and  in  which,  pleasure  tempted 
by  facility,  so  freely  indulges,  by  which  we  have  literally  become  one 
people.  In  this  country  alone,  do  the  people  speak  one  language 
throughout  its  length  and  breadth,  and  are  knit  together  by  ties  of 


consanguinity  and  personal  acquaintance.  It  is  a  fact,  (existing 
in  no  other  country  save  this,)  of  the  truth  of  which  any  one,  any 
where,  may  satisfy  himself,  that  the  majority  of  people  are  not  resi- 
dents of  the  place  of  their  nativity.  Let  any  one,  at  parties  or 
gatherings,  large  or  small,  ascertain  the  birth-place  of  those  present, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  in  most  instances,  a  majority  of  those  present 
are  not  of  that  place — native  born.  The  consequence  of  this  is,  that 
persons  have  relatives,  friends  and  acquaintances  in  every  State  of  the 
Union.  South  Carolina  is  the  least  striking  example,  she  is  sui 
generis.  She  has  held  out  no  inducement,  (save  the  sea-board,)  to 
settlers,  she  has  the  virtues  and  faults  of  pure  Americanism.  In 
Europe,  throughout,  even  in  those  countries  whose  extent  is  less  than 
that  of  a  single  State,  adjoining  provinces  or  counties  are  as  alien  to 
each  other  in  blood,  friendship  and  intercourse,  as  though  they  were 
purely  foreigners  to  each  other ;  their  very  language  is  mutually  unin- 
telligible ;  and  throughout  Europe  the  vast  mass  of  population  con- 
tinue residents  of  the  province  or  county  of  their  birth.  Internal 
improvements  are  gradually  changing  this  unamiable  aspect.  But 
at  present  they  are  not  linked  together  as  we  are,  by  the  strong  ties 
of  consanguinity,  intermarriages,  and  mutual  acquaintance;  they 
mingle  and  co-mingle  not  as  we  do,  like  waters,  until  we  become 
one. 

Had  we  continued  from  1816  to  this  time,  as  Mr.  Walker'would 
have  had  us,  "  an  agricultural  people,"  we  should  have  been  strangers 
to  each  other.  The  business  of  agriculturalists  keeps  them  at  home, 
communications  would  have  been  rare — and  the  glorious  fabric  of  an 
educated,  ingenious,  intelligent  and  wealthy  Republic  which  we  are 
rearing,  would  have  been  a  mere  nation  of  farmers — with  only  such 
limited  advantages  as  flow  from  a  single  occupation. 

The  mines  of  iron  and  coal  would  have  lain  dormant  and  valueless, 
while  we  should  have  paid  Great  Britain  not  only  fqr  the  labor 
bestowed  in  the  manufacture,  but  also  for  the  ore  of  iron  and  the  coal 
with  which  to  manufacture  it.  All  these  things,  properly  understood, 
are  undeniable,  and  result  directly  from  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Mr.  Walker  himself. 

Let  any  person  for  one  instant  picture  to  himself  the  state  of  affairs 
invited  by  Mr.  Walker ;  and  stated  to  be  the  best  and  natural  con- 


10 

dition  of  affairs  if  left  to  free  trade — at  one  fell  swoop  manufactures 
and  all  the  employments  connected  with  them  swept  from  existence 
here,  and  the  persons  thus  engaged  becoming  agriculturalists. 

There  is  more  food  now  raised  than  can  be  sold;  to  say  nothing  of 
augmenting  a  superabundance,  what  would  be  the  other  results  ?  The 
lines  of  communication,  now  supported  by  travellers,  and  those  include 
nine-tenths  of  all  of  them,  would  fall  into  disuse  from  want  of  patron- 
age. The  number  of  letters  would  diminish  by  millions,  the  cost  of 
transporting  the  mail  enormously  increased,  and  the  time  taken 
.greatly  extended.  The  telegraph  would  be  almost  useless-.  The 
teeming  ingenuity  of  mind  now  so  fertile  with  resources  for  improve- 
ment would  slumber  for  want  of  an  object.  Newspapers  and  periodi- 
cals would  diminish  three-fourths,  at  least — the  cost  of  printing 
increase — education  more  imperfect  and  more  expensive.  The  inter- 
communications almost  ceasing,  would  leave  us  in  ignorance  to  a  great 
degree  of  each  other,  and  the  moneys  spent  and  spending  in  the  free- 
trade  commerce  between  the  States  would  be  lost  in  the  wide  waste 
of  the  ocean. 

These  are  some  of  the  consequences  which  must  necessarily  pre- 
sent themselves  to  the  mind  of  all  who  will  carefully  scan  the  report 
of  Mr.  Walker. 

Washington,  August,  1849. 

To  the  following  great  principle,  embodying,  as,  undoubtedly,  it 
does,  the  true  policy,  we  claim  attention. 

That  there  shall  be  Free  Trade  among  all  nations,  in  such  articles 
as  «  soil,  climate,  and  other  causes"  shall  respectively  afford  the  ele- 
ments for  producing  and  manufacturing  lest  and  most  cheaply. 

To  the  consideration  of  this  cardinal  principle  we  invoke  the  atten- 
tion of  every  individual  in  the  land.  So  far  as  the  influence  of  the 
National  Government  can  affect  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  it  is 
the  very  pivot.  All  other  issues  sink  into  insignificance  when  com- 
pared with  this.  The  vacating  and  filling  offices,  are  but  incidents 
to  the  performance  of  Executive  duties.  If  these  be  promptly  and 
faithfully  performed,  it  is,  prima  facie,  abundant  evidence  that,  in 
relation  to  the  employees,  the  public  good  has  been  consulted;  nor  is 
it  wise  or  just  to  attribute  improper  motives  to  acts  whose  results  are 


11 

good ;  the  more  especially  as  no  reliable  evidence  can  be  had  that 
the  motives  are  bad,  while  the  evidence,  of  good  results,  is  manifest. 
If  the  offices  be  honestly  and  faithfully  filled,  it  matters  comparatively 
little,  certainly  no  great  national  interest  will  be  affected  by  it.  Much 
latitude  must  be  allowed,  in  this,  to  the  discretion  of  the  Executive, 
charged  with,  and  responsible  as  it  is,  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
the  duties  entrusted.  No  man,  therefore,  who  is  not  a  hunter  after 
office,  or  a  partizan  so  bitter  and  prejudiced  as  to  make  party  advan- 
tage the  supreme  law  of  his  life,  will  permit  himself  to  magnify  into 
the  importance  of  a  vital  principle,  the  question  of  employing  sub- 
agents  to  perform  the  inferior  duties  under  the  Executive ;  and  to  do 
this  too  at  the  expense  of  momentous  interests.  We  say  not  this  in 
vindication  of  changes  made  or  to  be  made ;  we  mean  to  express  no 
opinion  as  to  their  propriety  j  none  is  required  at  our  hands.  Our 
own  opinion  of  such  matters  is,  that  if  an  individual  appointed  to  any 
office  of  mere  routine,  performs  intelligently,  faithfully,  and  promptly 
its  duties,  recognizing  no  party  during  his  continuance  in  office,  that 
every  party  should  recognize  him  as  the  faithful  unobtrusive  servant 
of  the  public,  obnoxious  to  no  one,  acceptable  to  all. 

The  only  object  of  the  foregoing  remarks,  is  to  secure  consideration 
for  the  great  question,  presented  in  the  opening  of  this  article,  with 
the  single  reference  to  its  merits  as  a  national  and  universal  policy. 

The  leading  policy  of  the  Administration  will  doubtless  be,  to  bring 
into  harmonious  action,  on  this  principle,  the  conduct  of  all  nations. 
Sooner  or  later,  it  must  came  to  pass.  That  each  nation  should  devote 
itself  to  those  pursuits  in  which  it  can  excel  all  others,  is  so  palpably 
undeniable,  that  if  the  proposition  were  made,  ab  initio,  that  is,  if 
the  resources  of  all  nations  were  mutually  before  each,  before  any 
development  should  have  taken  place,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  all 
would  agree  to  the  proposition,  to  engage  in  the  pursuits  to  success 
in  which  their  resources  were  best  adapted. 

How  far  interests  which  may  have  grown  up  under  a  different 
policy,  may  interfere  with  the  successful  negotiation  on  this  principle, 
remains  to  be  seen.  But  every  approximation  to  it  is  desirable, 
and  a  disposition  to  a  certain  extent,  may  be  hoped  for  everywhere. 

For  instance,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  satisfy  Spain  that  we  can 
raise  rice  cheaper  and  better  than  can  Cuba ;  nor  would  it  be  very 


12 

difficult  for  Spain  to  convince  us  that  Cuba  can  raise  coffee  cheaper 
and  better  than  the  United  States.  There  are  many  articles  the 
elements  for  the  product  and  manufacture  of  which  abound  in  some 
countries  to  a  degree  so  superior  as  to  defy  competition  in  quality, 
quantity,  and  price.  In  all  such  cases  there  might  be  mutually  little 
difficulty  in  adjusting,  where  enormous  interests  are  not  concerned  in 
the  unequal  rivalry.  The  germ  of  the  policy  of  the  dominant  party, 
as  stated  in  the  opening,  is  that  of  good  seed,  and  legitimately,  the 
fruit  should  be  good. 

Foreign  commerce  should  be  limited  to  those  articles,  whose  ele- 
ments for  superiority  do  not  exist  among  us.  These  will  ever  afford 
a  great  commerce  to  this  country. 

"We  have  but  to  demonstrate  and  make  known  to  the  world  the 
superior  resources  of  this  country,  to  attract  multitudes  of  the  inge- 
nious and  industrious,  who  become  alike  consumers  as  well  as  pro- 
ducers. 

The  simultaneous  rush  from  all  Christendom  and  from  heathen  lands 
to  the  tempting  profits  of  California,  is  a  clear  indication  how  readily 
population  flows  to  any  point  where  profit  is  highly  probable. 

The  mines  of  California,  however,  allure  to  her  shores  a  population 
not,  in  every  respect,  by  any  means  desirable.  But  our  fertile  lands, 
our  exceedingly  rich  minerals  of  iron,  lead,  copper  and  plumbago, 
together  with  coal,  limestone  and  charcoal  with  which  to  manufacture 
them,  hold  out  strong  incentives  to  the  ingenious  and  industrious 
mechanic,  artisan,  and  manufacturer.  Cotton  and  hemp,  &c.,  tempt 
others,  while  the  machinery  necessary  for  the  manufacture  give 
earnest  of  good  employment  to  the  skilful  in  that  branch  of  trade. 
All  these  in  their  turn  give  rise  to  thousands  of  steamboats  and  rail- 
roads, furnishing  employment  to  millions. 

All  these  demands  for  labor,  the  surpassing  advantages  we  possess 
in  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  manufactures,  are  but  dimly  known 
to  the  great  masses  of  the  skilful  throughout  the  world. 

It  will  be  one  prominent  object  of  the  Administration  to  make 
known  to  all  the  world  our  excelling  advantages,  which  will  cause 
our  country  to  be  thronged  with  the  industrious  and  ingenious. 

Hitherto,  most  unfortunately,  there  has  existed  abroad,  only  that 
shadowy  information  of  our  advantages,  which  tempted  chiefly  those 


13 

in  desperate  circumstances,  or  who  from  want  of  skill  in  any  occupa- 
tion, could  find  no  employment  adequate  to  a  support ;  and  lastly, 
very  generally  emptied  the  hospitals,  penitentiaries  and  poor-houses 
on  our  shores,  to  an  extent  to  give  rise,  in  the  minds  of  many,  to  an 
aversion  to  emigration  altogether. 

Skilful  mechanics,  artisans,  and  laborers,  who  were  always  from 
their  skill,  industry  and  intelligence,  sure  of  constant  employment, 
have  not  come  over  in  great  numbers.  They  had  no  such  detailed 
and  reliable  information  as  to  give  them  assurance  that  their  skill 
and  industry  would  come  to  a  good  market.  Had  this  information 
been  freely  and  carefully  circulated  throughout  Europe,  Jn  a  form  and 
under  authority  to  guarantee  authenticity,  we  should  long  since  have 
had  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  best  workmen  of  Europe,  whose 
intelligence,  industry  and  probity  would  have  recommended  them  to 
universal  favor.  As  it  has  been,  however,  we  have  received  many 
such  to  whom  information  has  been  specially  sent,  or  who  from  some 
pressure  were  induced  to  acquire  sufficient  information  to' justify  a 
prudent  man  embarking  for  this  land  of  promise. 

An  industrious,  intelligent  and  skilful  population,  induced  ly  accu- 
rate and  full  information  of  our  superior  advantages,  would  afford 
tenants  for  houses,  consumers  for  produce;  in  return,  by  their  skill 
and  labor,  would  furnish  fabrics,  at  the  lowest  prices  and  best  quality, 
of  all  such  articles  as  the  elements  of  the  country  are  best  adapted  to. 
A  rapidly  increasing  population  gives  rise  to  new  lines  of  connexion ; 
a  large  population  giving  rise  to  large  consumption  necessarily  reduces 
the  cost  of  production ;  and  the  glorious  free  trade  among  all  the 
States  of  this  Union,  will  stimulate  production  to  such  an  extent,  as 
to  compel  other  nations  to  adopt  the  same  liberal  course. 

Foreigners  will  continue  to  flock  to  this  country,  those  whose  for- 
tunes are  so  desperate  that  no  change  can  make  worse,  will  come  with- 
out any  special  knowledge.  The  existing  Administration  will  feel  it 
incumbent  on  itself  to  try  and  secure  for  the  country  the  immigra- 
tion of  a  useful  and  desirable  population  in  lieu  of  the  outpourings  of 
alms-houses  and  penitentiaries. 

That  the  foreign  residents  and  citizens  of  this  country  are  all  of  that 
class,  we  are  far  from  meaning  to  imply,  but  that  large  streams  of  such 
constantly  flow  in  is  beyond  a  doubt. 


14 

We  have  extended  our  observations  beyond  the  length  intended, 
and  now  postpone,  for  a  subsequent  number,  some  further  views. 

Washington,  August,  1849. 

The  alpha  and  omega  of  Mr.  Walker,  is  to  encourage  imports ;  that 
is  his  great  panacea,  by  which  all  evils  of  political  economy  are  to  be 
remedied,  and  from  which  alone  is  to  flow  every  species  of  pros- 
perity. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  opinion  of  the  Tariff  party  is  this, — to 
stimulate  production  and  exports,  being  well  assured  that  imports  will 
take  care  of  themselves. 

By  stimulating  production  in  variety,  quantity  and  quality,  is  a 
nation  most  surely  enriched  ;  and  when  a  nation  or  individuals  obtain 
wealth,  they  are  never  at  a  loss  to  purchase  what  they  want.  Mr. 
Walker  bothers  himself  most  unnecessarily  in  contriving  ways  to 
secure  large  imports,  while  the  aim  of  a  discriminating  Tariff  is  to 
secure  to  this  nation  the  wealth  which  will  always  command  the  com- 
modities of  the  world. 

England  has  for  ages  pursued  a  protective  policy,  and  yet  her  im- 
ports were  enormous,  because  her  productiveness  was  so. 

Mr.  Walker  uses  curious  arguments.  We  give  some  of  them. 
He  says  : 

"  If  the  question  is  asked,  Who  shall  begin  the  work  of  reciprocal 
"reduction?  1st.  It  is  answered  by  the  fact,  that  England  has 
"  already  abated  her  duties  on  most  of  our  exports.  She  has  repealed 
"  the  duty  upon  cotton,  and  greatly  reduced  the  tariff  upon  our  bread- 
"  stuffs,  provisions  and  other  articles ;  and  her  present  bad  harvest, 
"  if  accompanied  by  a  reduction  of  our  tariff,  would  lead  to  a  repeal  of 
"  her  corn  laws,  and  the  unrestricted  admission,  at  all  times,  of  our 
"agricultural  products."  (2nd.) 

We  will  answer  Mr.  Walker's  first  query  by  saying  that  the  Tariff 
party  is  ready  to  carry  out  the  great  principle  laid  down  by  himself, 
without  waiting  or  caring  for  reciprocity.  They  are  now  ready  to 
have  and  to  encourage  "unrestricted  commerce"  in  all  commodities, 
the  elements  for  the  production  and  manufacture  of  which,  as  good  and 
as  cheap  as  anywhere  else,  do  not  exist  in  this  country,  but  to  suc- 
cess in  which,  "  soil,  climate  and  other  causes"  oppose  insuperable 


15 

barriers.  "We  care  not  what  restrictions  they  put  on  our  produc- 
tions, it  is  the  policy  of  a  just  Tariff  to  afford  the  people  the 
best  and  cheapest  of  everything.  All  those  commodities  which  can- 
not be  successfully  produced  here,  will  be  best  encouraged  by  being 
admitted  duty  free. 

Is  not  this  liberal  legislation,  far  beyond  anything  proposed  by  Mr. 
Walker? 

In  reply  to  the  second  part  of  the  query,  we  state  that  England 
has  done  wisely ;  she  has  adopted  the  Tariff  doctrine,  which  shines  like 
a  jewel  in  the  composite  report  of  Mr.  Walker.  "Soil,  climate  and 
other  causes/'  present  insuperable  obstacles  to  England  in  rivalry 
with  the  United  States  in  the  productien  of  cotton,  and  therefore,  and 
only  therefore,  has  she  repealed  the  duty  on  cotton. 

She  has  abated  the  duty  on  most  of  our  exports,  and  "  greatly 
reduced  the  duties  on  breadstuffs,  provisions  and  other  articles."  We 
here  see  the  distinction  made,  England  graduates  her  duties,  so  as  to 
render  them  no  higher  than  is  necessary  to  give  to  agriculture  the 
full  opportunity  of  testing  the  ability  of  her  soil  and  climate  to  pro- 
duce as  good  and  as  cheaply  as  other  nations. 

If  other  nations  can  furnish  England  with  agricultural  products  at 
lower  rates  than  her  own  soil,  and  she  admits  these  products  duty  free, 
what  is  the  inevitable  result?  Infallibly  the  utter  ruin  of  agriculture 
and  entireloss  of  value  of  land.  This  result  is  absolutely  certain ;  and 
yet  Mr.  Walker  asserts  that  England  would  do  this  thing  "  by  a 
reduction  of  our  tariff."  The  truth  is,  that  England  has  a  debt  of 
four  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  the  burden  of  which,  in  addition  to 
the  profits  of  her  manufactures,  must,  in  a  great  degree,  be  borne  by 
her  customers,  and  she  dare  pursue  no  policy  which  will  change  this 
state  of  things  until  her  debt  be  wiped  off.  If  England  repeals  her 
corn  laws  to  all  the  world,  she  must  simultaneously  repeal  a  portion  of 
her  enormous  debt. 

In  page  13  of  his  report,  Mr.  Walker  says : 

"  The  tariff  did  not  raise  the  price  of  our  breadstuffs,  but  a  bad 
«  harvest  in  England  does  ! ! ! ! !  giving  us  for  a  time  that  foreign 
"  market  which  we  would  soon  have  at  all  times  by  that  repeal  of  the 
"  corn  laws  which  must  follow  the  reduction  of  our  duties." 

There  is  sequitur  for  you.     This   paragraph  contains  information 


16 

and  a  species  of  ratioticination  which  no  one  will  contend  is  not  alto- 
gether Mr.  Walker's  own. 

Mr.  Walker  further  states,  that, 

"  While  breadstuff's  rise  with  a  bad  harvest  in  England,  cotton 
"  almost  invariably  falls ;  because  the  increased  sum  which  in  that 
"event  England  must  pay  for  our  breadstuff's,  we  will  take  not  in 
"manufactures,  but  only  in  specie;  and  not  having  it  to  spare,  she 
"brings  down,  even  to  a  greater  extent,  the  price  of  cotton." 

The  great  national  disaster  of  the  failure  of  a  crop  in  England, 
diminishes  to  an  enormous  amount  her  wealth,  her  ability  to  purchase. 
She  is  not  only  less  able  to  purchase,  but  the  scarcity  of  grain  com- 
pels her  people,  in  their  poverty,  to  give  a  higher  price  for  provisions  ; 
these  two  demands  together,  disable  the  people  of  England  from  con- 
suming the  usual  quantity  of  cotton  goods,  reducing,  of  course,  the 
demand  for  cotton;  this  is  the  reason  why  the  price  of  cotton  "al- 
most" always  falls  with  a  short  crop  in  England.  We  take  all  we 
want,  and  bring  home  the  remainder  in  specie,  with  which  operation 
Mr.  Walker  is  displeased.  Are  we  never  to  have  any  more  specie 
with  our  growing  wants  ?  How  shall  we  ever  get  specie,  if  after  buy- 
ing all  we  want,  we  do  not  import  the  balance  due  us  in  specie  ?  Mr. 
Walker  says,  England  has  not  got  it  "  to  spare."  Pray,  will  Mr. 
Walker  tell  us  who  has  got  it  «  to  spare  ?"  Have  we  ? 

It  is  thus  with  Mr.  Walker  throughout.  His  report,  his  argument 
and  illustrations  are  nearly  all  at  variance  with  the  good  principles  he 
lays  down,  and  his  "sequiturs"  are  very  much  in  the  style  of  the 
sailor,  who  asks,  "Parlez  vous  Frangois?"  "Oui  Monsieur!" 
"  Then  lend  me  your  gridiron." 

We  will  tell  Mr.  Walker  how  we  can  best  enable  England  to  purchase 
our  cotton.  It  is  by  "  unrestricted  commerce"  in  those  commodities 
which  "  soil,  climate  and  other  causes"  must  necessarily  render  us 
dependent  upon  those  nations  which  have  the  superiority  over  us. 
Thus  by  free  trade  in  tea,  coffee,  &c.,  we  encourage  the  production  of 
those  articles,  and  enable  those  countries  producing  them  to  buy  cotton 
goods  of  England.  And  this  is  actually  the  course  of  trade.  In 
China,  at  Rio  and  other  places,  for  the  balance  due  those  countries  we 
give  bills  on  England,  and  those  bills  are,  in  part,  for  the  purchase  of 
cotton  goods  by  those  countries  from  England.  Let  Mr.  Walker's 


17 

twenty-five  per  cent,  duty  be  laid  upon  tea,  coffee,  &c.,  in  distinct 
violation  of  the  only  vital  principle  contained  in  his  report,  and  he 
would  soon  find  that  the  demand  from  those  countries  for  English 
and  other  cotton  manufactures  would  be  diminished,  thus  diminishing 
of  course  the  demand  for  raw  cotton,  and  we  should  not  be  encouraging, 
for  our  own  advantage,  the  production  of  these  articles  to  the  highest 
degree  of  quality,  quantity  and  cheapness.  We  should  check  them. 

The  judicious  Tariff  doctrines  have  reference  to  a  universal  circula- 
tion of  commerce ;  Mr.  Walker  looks  only  to  the  direct  trade  between 
this  and  other  nations. 

We  close  this  number  with  this  simple  propositon  and  issue. 
Let  Mr.  Walker  demonstrate  what  articles  or  commodities,  the  ele- 
ments for  the  production  of  which  as  good  and  as  cheap  as  other 
nations  are  not  in  the  country,  and  our  party  will  agree  to  have 
free  trade  in  all  such  ;  and  to  levy  duty  on  the  others  only  to  the  extent 
necessary  for  the  wants  of  Government  economically  administered. 

Can  Mr.  Walker,  and  the  supporters  of  his  report,  desire  more  ?  Is 
this  platform,  not  one  upon  which  they  can  consistently  and  willingly 
plant  themselves  in  common  with  a  judicious  Tariff  party  ? 

Washington,  September,  1849. 

Does  not  this  Walker  Tariff  profess  to  substitute  English  and 
other  foreign  manufactures  for  those  of  America  ? 

Does  not  the  success  of  this  measure  strike  down  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  the  country  ? 

Is  the  term  "  Free  Trade"  so  dear  to  the  voters  of  the  United 
States,  as  to  render  them  wholly  regardless  of  their  own  interests  and 
that  of  the  country  ? 

If  the  manufactures  of  the  United  States  become  extinct  by  the 
floods  of  foreign  labor  let  loose  against  them,  will  not  the  country  lose 
the  whole  value  of  her  iron  and  coal  mines  ?  Will  not  all  her  improve- 
ments lose  large  amounts  of  tolls  ?  Will  not  these  losses  give  rise 
to  increased  taxation  ? 

Has  not  large  amounts  of  foreign  capital  of  neighboring  States  been 
expended  in  Pennsylvania,  developing  very  greatly   her  resources, 
giving  employment  to  many  thousands  of  persons,  erecting  improve- 
ments in  houses,  canals,  railroads,  and  giving  value  to  all  neighboring 
2 

V 


18 

property  paying  large  taxes  to  the  State,  and  large  tolls  in  addition  to 
her  public  works  ? 

Would  not  a  discriminating  Tariff,  taking  the  duty  off  tea,  coffee, 
&c.,  and  put  upon  foreign  manufactures,  if  it  hold  forth  the  assurance 
of  permanency,  cause  in  a  few  years,  the  influx  of  millions  of  capital, 
and  of  thousands  of  laborers,  manufacturers,  &c  ,  vastly  augmenting 
the  amount  of  revenue,  and  giving  rise  to  new  lines  of  communication, 
until  the  State  shall  be  covered  like  a  net  work? 

Will  not  this  augmented  population  give  Pennsylvania  a  greater 
influence,  a  larger  number  of  representatives  in  Congress  ? 

Will  not  the  decay  of  manufactures,  under  the  blighting  influence  cf 
the  Tariff  of  1846,  mildew  the  prosperity  of  the  State  ?  Will  not  a 
judicious  Tariff  give  employment  to  thousands  who  would  remain  in 
the  State,  but  who  will  be  compelled  to  leave  it,  as  the  decline  of 
manufactures  diminish  the  demand  for  mechanics,  engineers,  artisans, 
operatives,  &c.? 

Mr.  Walker,  thus  plainly,  flatly,  and  without  circumlocution,  pro- 
claims his  hostility  to  American  manufactures,  and  the  object  of  the 
Tariff  of  1846  to  put  them  down. 

Mark  well  the  deliberate  purpose  to  uproot  manufactures — 

f^gT""  He  (Mr.  Walker)  doubts  not  that  the  manufacturers  are  sin- 
Merely  persuaded  that  the  system  which  is  a  source  of  so  much  profit 
« to  them  is  beneficial  also  to  the  country.  He,  (Mr.  Walker,)  euter- 
"  tains  a  contrary  opinion,  and  claims  for  the  opponents  of  the  system 
"  a  settled  conviction  of  its  INJURIOUS  EFFECTS." 

Where  is  the  man  in  Pennsylvania,  with  this  declaration  of  the 
.  author  of  the  Tariff  of  1846  staring  him  in  the  face,  who  will  have 
the  bare-faced  effrontery  to  say  that  the  Tariff  of  1846  is  favorable  to 
the  manufactures  of  Pennsylvania,  or  of  any  other  State  ? 

Let  every  paper  in  the  State  keep  at  the  head  of  its  columns  this 
avowed  purpose  of  the  author  of  the  Tariff  of  1846,  denouncing  the 
manufactures  of  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere  as  "  INJURIOUS"  and 
that  the  Tariff  of  1846  is  intended 

"  To  prevent  the  substitution  of  American  manufactures  for  British 
goods." 

Mr    Walker  says  the  advantage  of  Free  Trade  "is  clearly  illus- 


19 

"  trated  by  the  perfect  Free  Trade  which  exists  among  all  the  States 
«  of  the  Union.7' 

Can  the  United  States  get  free  trade  any  where  except  among  them- 
selves? No.  Mr.  Walker  says  the  trade  among  the  States  is  the 
most  valuable,  because  it  is  a  perfectly  free  trade,  and  yet  he  seeks  to 
break  down  that  trade  which  is  fostered  and  augmented  by  a  tariff 
laying  no  more  duty  than  the  Tariff  of  1846.  Yet  a  discriminating 
Tariff  admittedly  and  immensely  increases  this  trade  between  the  States, 
while  the  Tariff  of  1846  is  intended  to  "prevent  the  substitution  of 
American  fabrics  for  foreign  goods." 

If  American  goods  be  substituted  for  foreign  fabrics,  they  would  be 
interchanged  among  the  States,  a  commerce  which  Mr.  Walker  de- 
clares to  be  the  best;  but  if  foreign  goods  be  substituted  for  American 
manufacture?,  to  that  extent  at  least  is  this  "  perfect  free  trade  among 
the  States"  diminished.  And  yet  Mr.  Walker  himself  by  his  Tariff 
of  1846,  does  not  substitute  even  a  foreign  free  trade,  while  he  does 
diminish  his  own  favorite  free  trade  among  the  States. 

Washington,  September,  1849. 

In  stating  the  "platform"  of  the  Walker  Tariff  of  1846,  you 
are  provided  with  the  conclusive  evidence  of  Mr.  Walker  himself, 
so  that  no  one's  faith  or  credulity  is  appealed  to. 

The  distinct  issue  avowed  by  Mr.  Walker,  is  the  EXTINCTION  OF 
MANUFACTURES,  and  we  proceed  now  to  demonstrate  this  from 
his  own  reports. 

Mr.  Walker  plants  himself  upon  the  following  great,  and  we  admit, 
truthful  principle  of  political  economy. 

"  Soil,  climate,  and  other  causes,  vary  very  mu^h  in  different  coun- 
"  tries,  the  pursuits  which  are  most  profitable  in  each;  and  the  pros- 
"  perity  of  all  of  them  will  be  best  promoted  by  leaving  them  unrestrict- 
"  ed  by  legislation,  to  exchange  with  each  other  <  those  fabrics  and  pro- 
" ducts  which  they  severally  raise  most  cheaply/" 

We  will  allow  Mr.  Walker  himself  to  show  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  friends  of  the  Tariff  of  1846.  are  those  articles  which  should  be 
freed  from  "  legislative  restrictions,"  because  our  «  soil,  climate,  and 
other  causes,"  will  not  permit  the  United  States  to  produce  them  on 
favorable  terms. 


20 

Mr.  Walker's  reports  abound  with  evidence  that  the  manufacturing 
interests  must  be  abolished,  because  they  can  never  furnish  good  and 
cheap  fabrics.  But  to  let  him  speak  for  himself,  and  for  the  advo- 
cates of  the  Tariff  of  1846, — we  give  his  own  words  : 

"  He  doubts  not  that  the  manufacturers  are  sincerely  persuaded 
"  that  the  system  which  is  a  source  of  so  much  profit  to  them,  is  also 
"beneficial  to  the  country.  He  (Mr.  Walker)  entertains  a  contrary 
"  opinion,  and  claims  for  the  opponents  of  the  system,  a  settled  conviction 
"of  its  INJURIOUS  EFFECTS." 

The  assertion  in  this,  of  Mr.  Walker,  that  the  system  "  has  been  a 
source  of  so  much  profit,"  is  unsupported  by  facts.  It  is  a  matter  of 
the  most  unquestionable  notoriety,  that  the  unhappy  fluctuations  in 
the  Tariff  have  resulted  in  the  failure  of  at  least  nineteen  out  of  every 
twenty  who  were  tempted  to  engage  in  them. 

Clear  as  is  this  declaration  of  a  "  settled"  hostility  to  the  "  system" 
of  manufactures,  Mr.  Walker,  speaking  in  behalf  of  the  advocates  of 
the  Tariff  of  1846,  takes  good  care  that  there  shall  be  no  misappre- 
hension as  to  their  purpose,  and  the  object  of  the  Tariff  of  1846,  and 
we  quote  his  own  words — it  is,  "  to  prevent  the  substitution  of  Ame- 
rican manufactures  for  foreign  goods." 

Nothing  can  make  the  issue  more  clear  than  the  foregoing.  Mr. 
Walker,  with  that  courage  which  is  his  most  distinguished  charac- 
teristic, although  he  has  many  eminent  ones,  marks  and  defines  the 
purpose  of  the  Tariff  of  1846,  and  of  its  advocates.  And  that  is,  that 
the  only  desirable  occupation  for  Americans,  are,  agriculture  and  such 
commerce  as  flows  from  an  exchange  of  our  agricultural  products,  for 
the  fabrics  and  products  of  other  nations.  He  says  it  would  be  "  thus 
enabling  our  farmers  and  planters  to  sell  their  products  for  cheaper 
foreign  manufactures." 

"Agriculture  is  our  chief  employment,  it  is  best  adapted  to  our 
situation,  and,  if  not  depressed  by  the  Tariff,  would  be  the  most  pro- 
fitable. Remove,  then,  from  agriculture  all  our  restrictions,  and  by 
its  own  unfettered  power  it  will  break  down  all  foreign  restrictions, 
and  ours  being  removed,  would  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the  poor 
of  our  fellow-men  throughout  all  the  densely-peopled  nations  of  the 
world.  But  now  we  will  take  nothing  in  exchange  for  these  products 
but  specie,  except  at  very  high  duties." 


21 

We  call  particular  attention  to  the  developments  in  the  above.    The 
first  conclusion  is,  that  "  agriculture  would  be  the  most  profitable"  em- 
ployment the  people  of  this  country  could  engage  in,  "  if  not  depressed 
by  the  Tariff,"  which  induces    many  to  engage  in  other  pursuits. 
Therefore  it  is  that  Mr.  Walker,  and  the  advocates  of  the  Tariff  of 
1846,  wish  to  banish  manufactures,  and  compel  all  parties  to  engage 
in  agriculture,  the  most  profitable  pursuit.     It  is  the  further  purpose 
to  cause  a  disruption,  an  extinction  of  that  "  perfect  free  trade  among 
all  the  States  of  the  Union/'  and  to  divert  the  whole  trade  of  the 
States  into  new  channels  of  direct  trade  and  commerce  with  foreign 
nations.     We  will  now  say  nothing  of  the  consequences  of  this  sudden 
disconnection  of  interests  and  intercourse  which  must  suddenly  follow 
the  consummation  of  the  purposes  of  Mr.  Walker  and  the  advocates 
of  the  Tariff  of  1846;  nor  will  we  calculate  the  fearful  cost  even  pecu- 
niarily, at  which  this  experiment  of  Mr.  Walker  must  be  tried.     A 
cost  involving  the  interests  of  manufactures  in  all  its  ramifications, 
touching  incidentally  and  beneficially  so  many  others  to  the  extent  of 
several  thousand  millions  of  dollars.     Towns  and  cities  have  sprung 
up,  canals  and  railroads  have  been  made,  steamboats  have  been  built, 
and  all  these  are  distinctly  doomed  to  be  of  the  "  things  that  were." 
Besides  those  directly  concerned,  the  roads  made  for  intercourse  among 
the  States  will  cease  to  be  travelled  by  the  most  numerous  class  of 
passengers,  the  business  men,  and  their  receipts  will  fall  off  heavily. 
Again,  upon  the  credit  of  the  large  amounts  of  real  estate,  machinery, 
the  railroads  and  canals,  enormous  loans  have  been  made ;  much  of 
this  amount  is  owned  by  farmers,  and  by  every  other  class  in  the 
community.     And  Mr.  Walker  and   the  advocates  of  the  Tariff  of 
1846,  will  find  that  this  dear-bought  experiment  will  bring  down  a 
wide-spread  ruin  among  others  than  those  against  whose  interests  they 
entertain  a  "settled  conviction." 

Nor,  again,  do  we  now  take  into  consideration  the  loss  of  life  and  pro- 
perty which  will  be  annually  incurred  by  diverting  the  "  five  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,"  the  present  amount  of  internal  trade,  as  stated  by 
Mr.  Walker  himself,  from  the  safe  channels'  it  now  pursues,  to  the 
dangerous  waters  of  the  ocean,  where  the  restrictions  and  losses  are 
greater  than  any  imposed  by  a  discriminating  Tariff.  And  the  loss 
includes  many,  very  many  precious  lives,  and  a  total  loss  to  all  the 


22 

world,  of  the  treasures  of  money  and  merchandise  which  go  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean.  This  loss,  which  would  be  borne  by  the  agricul- 
turists, and  to  which  Mr.  Walker  would  allure  them,  would  be  suf- 
ficient of  itself  to  place  manufactures  on  a  firm  basis,  and  by  the  price 
of  that  which  will  be  sunk  in  the  ocean  by  Mr.  Walker's  Tariff. 
Which  is  best,  to  sink  the  amount  in  the  ocean,  or  to  absolutely  give 
it  for  the  encouragement  of  manufactures?  But  Mr.  Walker  antici- 
pates that  a  trade  with  all  the  world,  instead  of  with  our  own  twenty 
millions  of  people,  would  augment  the  foreign  trade  to  two  thousand 
millions.  How  enormous  must  be  the  loss  at  sea,  of  life  and  property, 
on  this  amount ;  and  would  not  the  total  loss  of  property  in  this  way, 
be  quite  as  burdensome  to  commerce,  as  a  duty  to  that  extent  f 

The  risk  is  double,  because  produce  is  to  be  shipped  across  the 
ocean,  and  manufactures  are  to  be  shipped  back. 

The  losses  which  will  thus  inure  to  Mr.  Walker's  system  will  fall 
on  somebody.  Will  Mr.  Walker  assert  that  the  losses  by  shipwreck 
will  all  fall  on  other  nations  ?  Will  not  the  United  States  have  their 
full  share  of  it  ? 

Again,  the  dangers  by  sea  of  injury  to  agricultural  products,  par- 
ticularly to  grain  and  provisions,  during  a  sea  voyage,  are,  upon  the 
great  aggregate  of  exports,  a  most  serious  expense.  We  have  the 
most  abundant  evidence  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  Indian  corn  is 
seriously  injured,  and  that  scarcely  a  fourth  of  our  grain  and  flour  is 
delivered  abroad  in  good  order.  But  enough,  for  the  present,  on  this 
point. 

Mr.  Walker  asserts  in  the  paragraph  quoted  above  :  «  But  now  we 
will  take  nothing  in  exchange  but  specie,  except  at  very  high  duties." 

The  fact  is,  that  a  proper  Tariff  will,  so  far  from  admitting 
nothing  "  except  at  high  duties,"  admit  free  of  all  duty,  more  articles 
than  Mr.  Walker  himself  proposes  so  to  do!  And  further,  Mr. 
Walker  asserts  and  labors  to  prove  that  his  Tariff  has  imported 
more  specie  and  will  import  more  than  any  other.  So  that  as  to  the 
first  assertion  about  receiving  «  nothing  except  at  high  duties,"  we 
prove  him  wrong;  and  as  to  the  import  of  specie,  he  absolutely  per- 
spires in  his  labors,  to  prove  his  own  assertion  unfounded. 

While  Mr.  Walker  thus  complains  of  a  judicious  Tariff  taking 
"  nothing  but  specie,"  he  also  says,  mark  ye : 


23 

"  There  is  nothing  which  will  advance  so  surely  the  prosperity  of 
the  country,  as  an  adequate  supply  of  specie.  There  is  no  danger  that 
we  shall  have  too  much  gold  and  silver  in  actual  circulation." 

Another  extract  from  Mr.  Walker  will  show  what  he  means  by  the 
Tariff  of  1842  taking  "nothing  but  specie  in  exchange/'  and  the 
Tariff  of  1846  taking  goods  at  "  lower  duties." 

Under  the  Tariff  of  1842,  he  says,  in  the  year  ending  1846,  the 
specie  received  amounted  to  "$296,315."  This  is  the  Tariff  which 
will  take  only  specie !  The  Tariff  of  1846,  as  Mr.  Walker  states, 
«  received  in  1847,  $22,276,170." 

Without  now  undertaking  to  show  the  causes  of  this  difference,  we 
confine  ourselves  to  its  contradicting  Mr.  Walker's  assertions. 

He  alleges  that  the  demand  for  our  products  under  the  Tariff  of 
1842,  limits  the  sale  of  our  agricultural  products,  because  we  "  will 
take  nothing  but  specie,"  and  therefore  the  Tariff  of  1846  is  best. 
He  proves  it  by  showing  that  the  Tariff  which,  he  asserts,  will  in 
return  take  only  specie,  actually  imported,  net,  only  $296,315,  while 
the  Tariff  of  1846  required  foreign  countries  to  pay  us  $22,276,170. 
We  quote  these  only  to  show  the  contradictions  of  Mr.  Walker,  and 
how  confused  and  uncertain  his  ideas. 

In  another  part  of  his  report,  Mr.  Walker  objects  to  a  protective 
Tariff,  requiring  specie.  He  says  : — 

"  England  must  pay  for  our  breadstuff's,  we  will  take  not  in  manu- 
factures, but  in  specie,  and  not  having  it  to  spare,  &c.,  &c"  Thus 
we  see  again,  that  complaining  that  a  just  Tariff  takes  specie  from 
England  which  she  cannot  spare,  and  then  straightway  undertakes  to 
prove  that  his  Tariff  has  taken  six  times  as  much.  That  is,  England 
could  not  afford  $12,660,312,  but  that  she  could  spare  $68,507,630. 

The  report  abounds  with  such  hetorogeneous  compounds,  all  of 
which,  in  their  simple  form,  contradict  the  views  he  entertains. 

The  only  definite  idea  which  exists  in  Mr.  Walker's  head,  and 
which  we  presume  has  caused  him  to  put  forth  such  a  mass  of  undi- 
gested material,  is  that  Free  Trade  will  give  us  the  whole  world  as 
customers,  which  is  better  than  entire  Free  Trade  at  home  and 
restricted  trade  abroad;  upon  this  idea  he  appears  to  have  sought 
materials  to  give  it  the  form  and  semblance  of  a  theory. 


24 

Again,  Mr.  Walker  thus  proves  that  a  "  discriminating  or  protective 
Tariff"  "will  take  in  exchange  nothing  but  specie." 

He  says:  "From  the  beginning  of  1821  until  the  commencement 
of  1833,  and  from  the  30th  September,  1842,  until  1st  of  July,  1846, 
our  excess  of  imports  of  specie  over  the  exports  was  $12,660,312,  being 
an  average  annual  gain  of  $791,216  in  specie,  during  these  sixteen 
years  of  high  tariffs,  whilst  the  excess  of  specie,  during  the  eleven 
years  of  the  compromise  act  of  1836,  and  low  tariff  of  1846,  was 
$68,507,630,  and  the  annual  average  gain  of  specie  $6,227,967." 

It  would  he  a  very  easy  matter  for  us  to  correct  the  impression  in- 
tended by  Mr.  Walker  in  this  statement;  but  the  purpose  in  quoting 
is  simply  to  show  the  ingenious  consistency  of  Mr.  Walker  and  his 
remarkable  success  in  proving  that  it  was  the  Tariff  of  1842,  and  all 
high  tariffs,  which  would  « take  in  exchange  nothing  but  specie." 

If  Mr.  Walker  had  stated  that  this  large  amount  of  specie  was  in 
return  for  bonds,  he  would  put  the  matter  in  its  true  light,  but  he 
claims  the  specie  as  the  result  of  his  Tariff,  which  was  to  induce 
Europe  to  take  our  produce  by  exacting,  not  specie,  but  merchandise 
at  low  duties. 

We  have  sufficiently  shown  the  "  settled  conviction  of  the  injurious 
effects"  of  manufactures  entertained  by  Mr.  Walker  and  his  coad- 
jutors. 

He  and  they  may  be  right.  It  may  be  our  policy  to  convert  every 
man  into  an  agriculturist,  except  enough  to  transmit  produce  and 
receive  goods  in  exchange.  It  may  be  worth  all  the  sacrifices  which 
are  required.  But  the  evidence  of  such  advantages  should  be  very 
clear  indeed. 

The  policy  of  a  just  Tariff  is  comprised  in  a  single  paragraph. 
It  believes  in  the  superior  advantages  of  multifarious  employments. 
It  believes  the  country  possesses  the  elements  of  superiority  in  many 
branches  of  manufacture.  It  believes  that  these  elements  can  be  put 
into  successful  operation,  without  the  addition  of  one  dollar  duty  be- 
yond the  amount  which,  under  any  tariff,  must  be  raised  for  the  wants 
of  the  Government.  It  believes  that  the  way  to  secure  more  cheaply 
the  fabrics  and  products  which  we  cannot  furnish,  is  to  admit  them 
duty  free.  It  believes  that  by  laying  a  "  duty  for  revenue  only,"  on 
those  articles  which  we  shall  be  able  to  produce  on  the  best  terms, 


25 

will  give  rise  to  multifarious  occupations,  bringing  rapidly  into  success, 
ful  operation  the  elements  now  dormant  or  half  developed,  and  aug- 
menting to  the  uttermost,  that  most  beneficial  of  all  trades,  a  Free 
Trade  among  the  States. 

Is  not  this  platform  worthy  of  consideration  ?  Besides  the  advan- 
tages which  it  offers,  in  order  to  carry  it  into  operation,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  begin  with  the  extinction  of  interests  amounting  in  value 
to  thousands  of  millions.  It  has  that  margin  in  advance  in  its  favor, 
it  has  the  certain  good  to  save  that  amount  of  interest  from  ruin. 

But  the  whole  matter  lies  in  a  nut-shell,  so  far  as  laying  duties  is 
involved. 

The  advocates  of  Free  Trade,  of  the  Tariff  of  1846,  require  « legis- 
lative restriction"  upon  all  imports,  tea,  coffee,  &c. 

The  advocates  of  a  just  Tariff  desire  to  limit  the  "legislative  re- 
strictions" to  foreign  rival  manufactures,  and  no  duty  upon  tea, 
coffee,  &c. 

Thus  Mr.  Walker  will  tax  a  man  fifty  cents  on  his  tea  and  coffee, 
and  fifty  cents  on  his  cotton,  wool  and  iron,  together  one  dollar.  By 
taking  the  duty  off  iron,  &c.,  and  putting  it  on  coffee,  Mr.  Walker 
breaks  down  iron  manufactures  and  makes  every  one  pay  higher  for 
his  coffee. 

A  just  Tariff,  instead  of  levying  a  duty  of  fifty  cents  on  a 
man's  coffee  and  tea,  and  fifty  cents  on  his  iron,  wool  and  cotton  goods, 
levies  one  dollar  on  his  cotton,  wool  and  iron  goods,  and  nothing  on 
his  coffee  and  tea. 

It  will  thus  be  perceived  that  both  levy  a  duty  of  one  dollar,  while 
the  one  crushes  manufactures  and  the  other  fosters  them  into  life  and 
superiority. 


CONSISTENCIES  OF*  THE  BRITISH  TARIFF. 

Washington,   October,  1849. 

"  Soil,  climate,  and  other  causes,  vary  very  much,  in  different 
countries,  the  pursuits  which  are  most  profitable  to  each,  and  the 
prosperity  of  all  of  them  will  be  lest  promoted,  by  leaving  them, 
unrestricted  ly  legislation,  to  exchange  with  each  other  THOSE 


26 

"  FABRICS    AND    PRODUCTS     WHICH    THEY     SEVERALLY    raise    OlOSt 
"  CHEAPLY  " 

This  principle,  thus  clearly  laid  down  in  Mr.  "Walker's  report, 
admits  of  but  one  interpretation,  and  that  is,  we  should  import, 
"  unrestricted  by  legislation,"  or  "duty  free,"  all  merchandise  which 
can  be  produced  cheaper  by  other  nations  than  by  the  United  States. 
For  to  illustrate  his  meaning  to  be  "  duty  free"  on  all  such  articles,  he 
adds  in  the  next  sentence  : 

"  This  is  clearly  illustrated  by  the  "  perfect  free  trade,  which  exists 
among  all  the  States  of  the  Union/' 

With  this  principle  and  exemplification  laid  down,  Mr.  Walker 
advances  the  following  recommendation  : 

"  A  duty  of  25  per  cent,  ad  volorem  on  TEA  AND  COFFEE  is  again 
respectfully  recommended ;"  and  he  adds,  "  that  the  impost  suggested 
would  probably  yield  an  annual  revenue  of  Three  Millions  of  Dollars." 

As  Mr.  Walker's  principle  proposes  to  admit  »  duty  free,"  those 
"  fabrics  and  products  which  they  (other  nations)  severally  raise  most 
cheaply,"  it  follows,  of  necessity,  that  in  his  opinion,  tea  and  coffee 
cannot  be  raised  "  most  cheaply"  by  other  nations,  and  is  not  there- 
fore in  the  category  of  articles  "  free  of  duty."  And  to  encourage 
and  stimulate  the  production  of  tea  and  coffee  in  this  country,  he 
proposes,  in  a  free-trade  Tariff,  to  levy  a  "  protective  duty"  of  $3,000,000 
per  annum  !  ! 

If  this  be  not  true,  the  only  legitimate  conclusion  in  which  Mr. 
Walker's  principle  and  recommendation  result,  we  shall  be  most  truly 
thankful  to  any  one  who  will  trace  them  to  a  different  one. 

It  further  follows  that  Mr.  Walker  does  not  object  to  "  legislative1 
restrictions"  upon  "  fabrics  and  products"  which  other  nations  cannot 
furnish  more  cheaply  than  we. 

Mr.  Walker  takes  good  care  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  purpose 
of  the  party  which  imposed  upon  {Jie  country  the  tariff  of  1846, 
because  he  gives  the  reason  in  the  following  words  :  "  to  prevent  the 
substitution  of  American  rival  fabrics  for  foreign  goods." 

There  it  is  for  laboring  men  and  voters ;  the  Tariff  of  1846  is 
to  "  prevent  the  substitution"  of  the  labor  of  American  manufactures 
"  for  foreign  goods." 

If  it  succeeds  in  preventing  this  substitution,  then  it  destroys,  in 


27 

toto,  every  manufacturing  establishment  in  the  country,  closes  every 
iron  and  coal  mine,  and  compels  all  those  engaged  in  any  of  these 
pursuits  to  starve,  or  to  seek  othdr  occupations  to  which  they  are 
strangers. 

THE  TARIFF. 

\Ve  clip  from  the  Union  the  following : 

The  London  Herald,  not  long  ago,  in  one  of  its  ruin  arguments, 
wrote  as  follows : 

"  The  United  States  people  have  cotton  wool  at  first  cost,  and  per- 
"  haps  not  using  quite  so  much  paste  and  gypsum,  and  devil's  dust, 
"  have  beaten  our  mill-owners  out  of  every  market  for  coarser  cot- 
"  tons ;  even  out  of  our  own  markets  in  India,  where  American  cottou- 
"  shirting  of  equal  quality  may  be  had  for  less  than  half  the  English 
"  price.  This  is  the  fruit  of  our  free  trade  so  far,  which  gives  to 
"  America  a  balance  of  very  many  millions  a  year  wherewith  to  beat  us 
"  out  of  our  own  markets.  As  yet  we  have  some  small  advantage  in 
"  the  finer  fabrics,  and  it  is  really  to  preserve  this  miserable  advantage 
"  that  our  agriculture,  our  colonies,  and  our  maritime  commerce,  not 
"  only  the  sources  of  our  principal  wealth,  but  also  the  military  bul- 
"  wark  of  our  safety,  are  to  be  sacrificed ;  and  after  all,  this  wretched 
"  advantage  we  cannot  keep  long,  for  a  little  money  and  a  little  expe- 
"  rience  will  enable  the  United  States  to  beat  us  in  the  finer  as  in  the 
11  coarser  fabrics.  It  is  a  remarkable  and  a  significant  fact,  that  all  the 
"  later  improvements  in  cotton-weaving  machinery  have  come  from 
"  the  United  States.  Our  cotton  trade  is  doomed  ;  and  the  leaguers 
»<  can  only  accelerate  its  ruin  by  the  rate  at  which  they  are  driving  it." 

Can  anything  be  more  conclusive  of  the  benefits  of  a  "  discrimi- 
nating" Tariff?  Suppose  we  had  been  «  blessed''  with  a  Walker  Tariff, 
by  which  the  "  lowest  duties"  are  to  be  placed  on  British  manufac- 
tures and  25  per  cent,  added  on  Tea,  Coffee,  &c.,  would  our  manufac- 
tures have  sprung  up  and  ripened  into  such  superiority  as  is  attributed 
to  them  in  this  article?  Who  so  bold  as  to  aver  it  ? 

Have  we  not  equally  the  elements  for  a  successful  competition  in 
other  manufactures  of  Cotton,  Wool,  Iron  ?  If  so,  is  it  not  desirable 
that  we  should  attain  this  superiority  to  supply,  not  only  our  own 


28 

people,  but  other  countries?  Will  the  "  lowest  duties"  give  such 
encouragement  as  to  produce  this  result  ?  If,  aye,  will  not  the  higher 
duties  bring  the  consummation  ab'out  at  a  much  earlier  period?  And 
loth  systems  raising  to  a  dollar  tlie  same  amount  of  revenue,  is  it  not 
important  to  hasten  the  maturity  of  our  manufacturing  system,  which 
costs  only  the  amount  which  must  be  raised  with  or  without  them  ? 

We  have  had  a  trial  of  the  "lowest  duties"  in  Pennsylvania;  and 
we  ask  the  laborers,  whether  the  prices  which  the  Iron  producers  and 
manufacturers  now  get,  will  enable  them  to  pay  as  good  wages  as 
they  could  afford  to  pay  under  the  Tariff  of  1842  ?  We  ask  them 
further,  whether  they  can  get  for  sale  as  large  quantities  as  under  the 
Tariff  of  1842  ?  and  whether  the  diminished  demand  for  American 
iron  and  diminished  prices,  do  not  compel  the  dismissal  of  large 
numbers  of  laborers  directly  and  indirectly  connected  with  iron  man- 
ufactures ? 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


*** 


3  1967 


TEB" 


LOAN  DEPT. 


